en Ottawa Mosque

Ottawa Mosque
Ottawa Mosque
French: Mosquée d'Ottawa
	The mosque at sunset, in 2018
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Mosque
Status	Active
Location
Location	251 Northwestern Ave, Ottawa, Ontario
Country	Canada
	Location of the mosque in Ottawa
Geographic coordinates	45°24′05.3″N 75°44′28.9″W / 45.401472°N 75.741361°W
Architecture
Architect(s)	Ghazi Anwar Asad
Type	Mosque architecture
Style	International
Date established	1965 (as a congregation)
Groundbreaking	September 1973
Completed	1977
Specifications
Capacity	700 worshippers
Dome(s)	One
Minaret(s)	One
Minaret height	35 m (115 ft)
Materials	Brick

The Ottawa Mosque (French: Mosquée d'Ottawa) is a mosque in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the oldest mosque in Ottawa and one of the oldest mosque in Canada.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

History

The Muslim community in Ottawa was informally established in the 1940s and met initially in the grounds of the Western United Church and then the Northwestern United Church. The Ottawa Muslim Association was formed in 1962,^[1] and incorporated in 1965.^[5] Prayers at major religious festivals, such as Eid-al-Fitr, were held at the Pakistan High Commission and the Egyptian Embassy.^[5] In 1970, two houses on Northwestern Avenue were acquired and used as a prayer room and for the delivery of other services.^[5]^[6]

The establishment of the mosque was announced in 1972, approval from government officials in the following year, the first prayer services held on 26 March 1975, and despite not being fully completed, was opened for Eid Milad-un-Nabi on 3 March 1977.^[5]

Architecture

Designed by architect Ghazi Anwar Asad in the International style,^[7] the mosque consists of two floors and can accommodate up to 700 worshippers. Its minaret is 35 metres (115 ft) high. The mosque also features a library, meeting rooms, childcare center and event halls.^[1] It also houses the headquarters of the Ottawa Muslim Association.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Ottawa Mosque". ArchNet. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
^ "History of OMA". Ottawa Muslim Association. Retrieved 13 April 2022.^{[self-published source?]}
^ ^a ^b "Tenth Islamic Heritage Month aims to increase understanding". Centretown News. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
^ Gillis, Megan (22 November 2021). "Obituary: Farid Ahmed was a pioneer of the Ottawa Muslim community". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Ottawa's First Mosque". Today in Ottawa's History. 16 March 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
^ "About us". Ottawa Muslim Association. Retrieved 1 January 2025.^{[self-published source?]}
^ "Ottawa Main Mosque" (includes streaming video). Doors Open Ontario. 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2025.